Crabgrass help!

[QC]

About 6 weeks ago I paid my gardener $1K to rip out my old lawn (Fescue blend) that was infested with Crabgrass, bermuda, some clover etc. He did an OK job, and tilled most of it, but really didn't get everything turned over. Reseeded with Marathon brand Fescue which is basically the standard here. Lawn came in real well, nice and lush, full etc. However the honkin', flippin', f'in' Crabgrass is back with a vengeance. He sprayed with some stuff that got some of it, and I have spot worked it with round-up that has killed a little, but it is spreading faster than I can keep up. I want to rip it up and start over, but of course that would cost $ and time and all the other stuff that I've got none of, so I have decided to make an all out assault on the Crab and see if I can save it. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[tommays]

Re: Crabgrass help!

I have only had luck with the pre-emergent killers you use in early spring


Tommays

 

[SuperNova]

Re: Crabgrass help!

I'm with tommays. Last year I tried to kill the crabgrass after it started growing and it ended up costing a fortune and never really got rid of any of the crabgrass. By the end of last season I had more crabgrass than regular grass, and I'm on a 3/4 acre lot! This year I used a pre-emergence treatment only once and I didn't really use as much as I should have, but there is absolutely no crabgrass anywhere in my yard. So my recommendation would be to forget it for this year and hit it next spring before it starts growing.
--
Stan

 

[Husker100]

Re: Crabgrass help!

Look for a product called Drive.This will do a good job on whats there but nothing to hold it back.Then pre emerge in the spring like the others have said.

 

[i386]

Re: Crabgrass help!

Well I beat it the hard way. I dug up each individual crabgrass plant. I put topsoil in each divot I created and seeded Bermuda. I have a small trailer for my lawn mower and I filled it up about 5 times if that tells you how much crabgrass I had.

Like someone said earlier pre-emergent herbicides stop new seeds from germinating. You'll want to get ride of the crabgrass you have and use the pre-emergent herbicide too. Then do everything you can to get your grass healthy. If it grows thick it'll choke out the weeds. When you get it right you shouldn't need herbicides at all except for an occasional non-selective (Round-up) application to kill a rogue weed.

My yard is Bermuda which propagates by seed and vegetively. The downside is that it's invasive. It holds up well in the drout and heat here so it's a good choice for me. Once it gets established it's hard for seeds of other plants to reach the soil and germinate.


Take a soil sample to your county extension office and make amendments according to their recommendation and re-test. Many weeds thrive in infertile soil and actually don't like good soil. Plantains (not the kind you eat hehe) for instance love crappy soil.

Good luck!

 

[Bondo]

Re: Crabgrass help!

Clorox,........ Right out of the Bottle,......

Just be Careful where you spray it,....... It'll Kill anything it hits.......

 

[rwise]

Re: Crabgrass help!

clorox works well, but some things will still take more than one app of it, like poison ivy.

 

[Colorado04]

Re: Crabgrass help!

If you want a nonselective herbicide, you can us white vinigar. My horticulturist friend to me about it. It works great and is enviromentally friendly. It does kill just about everything. I use it to keep my gravel walk way clear. I spray it out of a regular household sprayer twice a year. It smells for a day or so but it sure beats the cost of commercial herbicides.

Just a thought.

 

[QC]

Re: Crabgrass help!

Great ideas, thanks. I may do a quick test of Roundup vs. Clorox, vs,. Vinegar . . . It does sound like my best chance for total eradication is next spring. I honestly can't tell you if Crab goes dormant here though, I am pretty sure I recall it going brown, but I wouldn't put money on it Are there any climates that Crabgrass makes it through year-round?

 

[drewmitch44]

Re: Crabgrass help!

the problem is that he tilled it which just pushed the crabgrass roots deeper. That made them stronger. I dont know why he didnt kill everything before he tilled and re-seaded. The fall is the best time to do that. I would live with it for now then late fall spray a product like ground clear to kill everything, grass and all. Then next spring the soil will be ready for seed after the winter of the chemical continuing to kill everything and also working its way out of the soil. If you till weeds you are only making them stronger. Ther roots run deeper and so they spread faster!

 

[CalicoKid]

Re: Crabgrass help!

Know the difference between Crabgrass, an annual, and Quackgrass, a perennial. Crabgrass is easy to control with Spring preemergents. Quackgrass is the devil and pulling it out only seems to make more as it leaves many runners in the ground to sprout new grasses. Unless the infestation is small and can be spot controlled only total kill and renovation will get Quack out and you'd better be damn sure it's all dead before investing in a new lawn. WI is a long way from CA so our circumstances are likely quite different but Quackgrass is a PITA here.
​

 

[aspeck]

Re: Crabgrass help!

I'm living with mine till September, then radical kill, coat of topsoil, manure mix (first time lawn was installed the top soil was way too thin), and reseeded. Then pre-emergent and fertilizer in the spring.

 

[dancudayo]

Re: Crabgrass help!

A little late but might be of some help. I read that baking soda will kill crabgrass, it does something to the soils p.h., crabgrass thrives in acidic soil. I tried it and works if it doesn't rain and get all washed out, it might yellow your lawn grass but that comes back just fine.

 

[SgtMaj]

Re: Crabgrass help!

I've had good luck killing crabgrass by ensuring that my whole lawn is dead... yeah, that hasn't really been working out too well for me.

 

[Tater Head]

Re: Crabgrass help!

CalcioKid is correct. Keep in mind there is enough seeds in the ground to keep you supplied in crabgrass for years. You will have to use pre emergent every-year.

 

[i386]

Re: Crabgrass help!

One of these years I'm going to get it right. I always say I'm going to put out the pre emergent herbicide before the weeds start coming up and I always miss the mark. I've got these weeds that come up in late Jan. They are easy to kill with Ortho Weed B Gon. I still have time to get the crab grass seeds before they germinate though. Because of the drought, I had a pretty sorry looking yard last season. I never water it. I am confident the bermuda will bounce back if we continue to get rain this year.

 

[turfman]

Re: Crabgrass help!

You will not solve the problem by tilling your soil; in many instances you will increase the infestation. Crabgrass seed can lay dormant for a long time; up to 15 years by some sources. Once you disturb the soil profile, you might just kick up a bank that may have been dormant for some time.

You have to get yourself on a program that inhibits the germination of the seed in the first place. Yes, you can kill the stuff with herbicide or any kind of concoction post emergant; but it does not solve the problem.

I'm a golf course Superintendent and also have a lawn care/property management business. If you think you're having trouble with your lawn; try coming to my world and keep it out of 600 peoples lawns, 47 industrial properties lawns, and 422 acres of two golf courses!

I don't know the growth cycle in your area as I'm on the east coast. But as people have said in previous posts; go to your county extension agency if you have one, or the university that has a turfgrass/ agronomy program. Ask them for literature on suppression of crabgrass and a list of materials that can be appield for your area.

I'll give you an example of what I do here in NJ.

If the soil has not been touched or grass hasn't been planted the previous fall I will apply a pre emergent herbicide called pendimethalin in two split applications starting in a a month or so. This will be followed up in about 6 weeks with the other application.

If the soil has been disturbed and grass seed has been planted in the fall I apply a pre emergent herbicide called dimesion in two split applications. This herbicide will let the grass grow until the soil hits the optimum temprature for crabgrass seed germination around 55degrees. Then the herbicide is applied. The second round about 6weeks later

You can do 1 application with each of these herbicides with good results, but I like to do split apps because it will provide a longer window of control and the fact that I can bill twice.

You will inevitabley have some crabgrass breakthrough; and there I will apply a couple products, Drive and gallery. These herbicides will also control other grassy weeds.

As far as doing it yourself; well it depends on how closley you monitor your climate and the availability of the product. For the average guy I would highly reccomend you get a service to do it for you. Just make sure there is a % of breakhrough that you can both come to terms with. I generally quote 10% and that is alot and very rarely probably go over 2% infestation; but strange things happen when working with nature, so I have to protect both sides.

If you guys need help; I'll gladly offer advise and tips for you.

turfman

 

[MikDee]

Re: Crabgrass help!

Well, if it wasn't for crabgrass, dandelions, & quackgrass, I wouldn't have a lawn
My issue is, I only have a 1/3rd acre, but it is sloped everywhere, not a piece of level ground I'd love to get a riding lawnmower, but I'd have trouble keeping it upright, just bought a new Husky self propelled 22" from Sears, but it is a bear to back up, turn around, or, help push it up a slope,

I remember looking over the property, before our house was built, and saying "Ah, that upslope don't look too bad, Right Honey?" then she said, " Yes, and it'll keep the water running downhill!" Yeah right, Big Mistake! I can't even get my 2WD S-10 up the driveway in any bad weather

 

[QC]

Re: Crabgrass help!

Wow. Thread from the dead. Update in order I guess. My lawn is completely fooked now . . . I have everything under the sun growing. A little Fescue (what I want) a little bermuda, some dormant crabgrass, some other weed that kinda acts like bermuda, some run-o-the-mill weeds with thorns and stuff and our regular everyday winter grass that grows all over here whenever it rains which it has quite regularly this year.

Well I stopped paying my gardener to get his attention, so he decided it was time to talk . . . I guess my mini-plan worked. He has agreed to kill everything and start over, but I don't trust him at this point. It's not that I think he is a bad guy, but I paid him to do all of this once, he gets paid to "keep" my lawn, and so far I have been very disappointed. I'd fire him, but then I am totally out of the bucks I have invested. What it really needs is everything killed with some serious crap, a wait of a few weeks for it to recover and then sod. But of course I had this silly idea of showing everyone in our neighborhood that seed actually is where lawns come from . . . So I guess I'll keep supporting Mexico's economy as I think I am going to suggest to this guy that I'll buy the sod if he'll install for nada. We'll see. It's probably the perfect time here now, and this reminded me to try and catch him today . . .

 

[turfman]

Re: Crabgrass help!

Wow. Thread from the dead. Update in order I guess. My lawn is completely fooked now . . . I have everything under the sun growing. A little Fescue (what I want) a little bermuda, some dormant crabgrass, some other weed that kinda acts like bermuda, some run-o-the-mill weeds with thorns and stuff and our regular everyday winter grass that grows all over here whenever it rains which it has quite regularly this year.

Well I stopped paying my gardener to get his attention, so he decided it was time to talk . . . I guess my mini-plan worked. He has agreed to kill everything and start over, but I don't trust him at this point. It's not that I think he is a bad guy, but I paid him to do all of this once, he gets paid to "keep" my lawn, and so far I have been very disappointed. I'd fire him, but then I am totally out of the bucks I have invested. What it really needs is everything killed with some serious crap, a wait of a few weeks for it to recover and then sod. But of course I had this silly idea of showing everyone in our neighborhood that seed actually is where lawns come from . . . So I guess I'll keep supporting Mexico's economy as I think I am going to suggest to this guy that I'll buy the sod if he'll install for nada. We'll see. It's probably the perfect time here now, and this reminded me to try and catch him today . . .

Did you read my post.

Resodding doesn't solve the problem.

And that grass like Bermuda is probably Kikua.